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Trivia
Railroad Trivia Manila-Malabon Tramline * The Manila-Malabon kine operated by the Compania de los Tranvias de Filipinas was the first railway system in the Philippines, the Manila-Dagupan Line started operations in 1891. Rio Grande Bridge * The Manila-Dagupan line was said to be completed in 1892, but the Rio Grande de Pampanga was still under construction and was not completed until 1894. JMC Rail Cars * The JMC Diesel Rail Cars resembles the Tokyu Green Frog displayed outside Shibuya Station in Japan, both were manufactured by Tokyu Car Corporation, now J-TREC. Nikko Rail Car * The Diesel Rail Car "Nikko" (later renamed as Hope, Luster, & Penafrancia), resembles the 0 series Shinkansen, the differrence from the shinkansen are: - Cab resembles the U12C Streamliner in terms of its windshield. - Location of the Headlights are located beside the windshield rather than the nose. - Separate Head and Tailights. - Number of windows between the doors - An Observation room with a gangway connector was built at the rear end. * Unlike the real shinkansen, the Driver's Cab is higher than the passenger room. Loco-hauled Services After the World War II up to this day, most locomotive-hauled services of the Manila Railroad Company (now Philippines National Railways) consist of a American General Electric locomotive and Japanese Coaches from various manufacuturers ex: Niigata Engineering Company, Nippon Sharyo etc. Locomotives 917-922 and 5001-5010 were manufactured in Canada. Tayuman station * Tayuman station serves as a temporary station beside the Manila Locomotive Shed after the Tutuban terminal was closed for the development of the center mall, the new Tutuban station Executive was completed in 1996 but passenger services remains until Tayuman station only, the rehabilitation succeeded to the demise of this station as the the station was moved to the Executive Building. Sampaloc sta. * There used to be a station in Sampaloc, Manila between Blumentritt and Santa Mesa stations, the existence of the España station in 1978 probably lead the abandonment of this station. There was also a Sampaloc station in Gainza, Camarines Sur. Dagupan locomotive * The Dagupan steam locomotive displayed outside the Tutuban Executive Building, (formerly on Fort Santiago) was not the original Dagupan one, the real Dagupan is was build by Hunslet in 1889 while the one displayed is a Kerr Stuart, build in 1905. Aloneros-Ragay Gap * When passenger services commenced between Manila-Legazpi on January 31, 1938. Freight services were operated since January 11. A trial run for passenger services was held on January 25. Carmona sta. * Despite having the name "Carmona", the station is actually located between the border of Brgy. Magsaysay, San Pedro, Laguna and Brgy. Nicolasa Virata, General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite, Carmona is still 3 kms away. MRT-3 & LRT Line 2 * Despite being called MRT, it is actually a elevation light rail line as it uses Light Rail Vehicles or High Capacity Trams resulting in the quick overloading of trains during rush hour. LRT Line 2 uses Heavy Rail EMUs having a width of 3.2 m vs, the MRT which have only a width of 2.48 m. Nielson Field * There used to be a spur line from Pasay Road (then Culi-Culi) station connecting the Nielson Field, now known as the Ayala Triangle, Pasig Tramline also used to pass the field via Kalayaan Avenue today. thumb|203px Turntable * A turntable was planned to be build at Tutuban yard but it was not finished, leaving a rounded excavation that turns into a lake during heavy rains. * The Brgy, Hall of Latoria in Naic, Cavite stands above the former turntable of the Manila Railroad Naic line, still intact as of now. Railroad names Some barangays and roads were named after the railroad built in their area. *Ibayong Estacion - The Ibayong Estacion Elementary School in Cavite was the Naic station. *Estacion - despite the name, Paniqui station is located in Brgy, Samput, south of Brgy. Estacion. *Brgy. Daang Bakal - Location of the Mandaluyong and Magalona stations, at the back of Jose Rizal University. *Brgy. Triangulo - Named after the Naga Wye. MRR Dieselization * Prior to the Japanese Occupation, Manila Railroad Company started operations of diesel motor cars in some branch lines where passenger demand is high such as the Taytay line. * Despite the dieselization era between 1954 to 1956, steam locomotives were still in use but downgraded to maintenance services and seasonal runs. Rail Motor Cars * Although the Rail Motor Cars were locally built, it has Dodge-Koppel truck chassis. * When the 1st batch of the railcars have a flat cab, the next batches were based on the Flying Yankee Streamliner and the Doodlebug. * Like other railcars outside the Philippines, each cab also have a steering wheel. Paco station * The Paco station was supposed to be erected on what is now the Barangay 848 where the Philippine Bible Society stands. Lake Paco * This was the term called by the Philippine Railway Historical Society as the railtracks surrounding the Paco station always flood during heavy rains since 1908. San Andres sta. * When the San Andres station is new for the Main Line South Metro South Commuter service, there used to be a San Andres station on the Naic line, built in 1923. Demolition of Heritage stations * During the partial demolition of the rubble stone Lucena station for its renovation, Philippine National Railways on their facebook page replied that there are not demolishing any old stations. In reality, the Calamba, San Pablo, Iriga, Polangui, Daraga were demolished, the Gumaca station was also set to be demolished but only the west side was dismantled. * The Santa Rosa, Laguna station building which resembles the old ones in Cabuyao and Calamba was demolished with the informal settlers in 2010. Masile sta. Before the arrival of the railroad in Laguna, there was used to be a barrio in Calamba, Laguna named Sumile, when the railroad to Santa Cruz and Pagsanjan was opened, residents later petitioned for a flag station to be erected in their area, but when the station name was hanged, it was labeled as Masili instead, since then, the area was renamed Masile. Hulo sta. * Hulo station was formerly known as San Pedro Macati, despite the station being located at Mandaluyong and Makati is located at the other side of Pasig River. Manato sta. * The existence of Manato station of the Main Line South in Tagkawayan, Quezon caused the splitting of the barangay into two, the area where the station is located is called Manato Station while the rest is Manato Central. San Fernando sta. * Dr. Jose Rizal disembarked at this station in 1892 to meet the new recruits of La Liga Filipina, 50 years later, this was the stopping point of the Death March, Prisoners of War were packed inside the box cars bound for Capas. * The name of the station at the east and western sides didn't exist until around 1940 when it was remodelled. * One of the paintings exhibited inside the station has a portrait of Dr. Jose Rizal with the station building having its current facade despite it was different when he visited Pampanga that time. Bayambang sta. * Originally there are 2 Bayambang stations when the Manila-Dagupan line was opened in 1892, these are Bayambang Pasajeros (Passenger) and Bayambang Mercancias (Freight), Bayambang Mercancias was renamed Bautista in 1900 when the town was separated, another station, Bayambang U was added a few years later but also renamed to Poponto since then. * The Bayambang Pasajeros became the official Bayambang station since 1900. Hondagua * Prior to the establishment of a railroad in Lopez, Quezon, Brgy, Bagacay was then a big barrio, during the construction of a railroad, officials decided to named the station Hondagua because of the deep water at the bay beside it, the name came from the word Hondo and Agua, since then, it was separated from Bagacay and named Hondagua after the station. * The Wye not only enables locomotive to reverse their position but also connects the Philippine Flour Mills. Dau sta. When the Bagbag-Mabalacat segment of the Manila-Dagupan line was opened in February 2, 1892, Dau station didn't exist until 1903, it was constructed as the junction for the Fort Stotsenburg Military line, and later to Magalang. Antonio Luna * The Valenzuela (Polo) station served as the headquarters of General Antonio Luna during the Philippine-American War, as the publisher of La Independencia, newspapers were printed inside the train car that was used to be displayed with the Dagupan Kerr Stuart locomotive in Fort Santiago but it disappeared when Dagupan was moved to the new Tutuban station. * The station name in the 2015 film "Heneral Luna" was written as Bulacan instead of Valenzuela despite no railroad have ever existed in Bulacan, Bulacan., also the windows have MRR grills, resembling the one in Calumpit. Tarlac sta. * The Arch Corridor at the middle of the station building didn't exist until 1932 during its renovations for the extension of the line to San Jose, Nueva Ecija. Guagua sta. Despite Guagua station was featured in the 2015 film "Heneral Luna" where the events happened in 1898, the station and the railroad serving the town didn't exist until 1908, the design of the then non existing station for the film was based from the Damortis station. Panay Railways The railcars of the Panay Railways were locally built, they are known as Suburbans. Short-lived Rolling Stocks * Some Diesel locomotives do not appear to have a single picture taken such as: 901 - Acquired in 1974 and involved in a derailment in 1979. 910 - Acquired in 1978 and involved in a collision with another train in 1981. 5010 - Acquired in 1992, a overloaded car detached from another engine and rolled until it collides at the back of the locomotive, both trains are bound for Manila. DMR-11 - Acquired in 2009 and involved in a collision with a Cola-Cola truck in 2011. Guinobatan & Camalig sta. * The Main Line South used to pass at Guinobatan and Camalig stations until a diversion line was built in 1981, bypassing the two stations, Guinobatan was replaced by Travesia. Station Buildings * The wooden station master's room at the original Manila-Dagupan Line stations were removed, either damaged during the war or removed during renovations * Some of the wooden station buildings in the North and South lines were either replaced or reconstructed to concrete with most decorated with rubblestones, the stations are: Damortis, San Pablo, Lucena (1937), Pamplona (1941) and Legazpi. * The station buildings at Bauang, La Union and College have the same design. Historical Markers PNR has historical markers due its historical background. * Tutuban station - installed in 1934. * Presidential Car - installed in 1984 (both marker and carriage are gone). * Valenzuela - installed in 2015. * Capas station - Death March. * San Fernando - Death March. Malolos station has a temporary marker as it needs to have a marker from the National Historical Institute yet. The Kerr Stuart Dagupan (originally Santo Tomas) locomotive and Antonio Luna's boxcar were previously displayed at Fort Santiago for its history in the La Independencia, the locomotive was transferred at Tutuban while the boxcar disappeared as it is now the one in Capas. Existing MRR Locomotives * Currently, the PNR only has three of its MRR-era steam locomotives. * The oldest surviving MRR locomotive "Urdaneta 17" is on display at Dagupan City Plaza. * One of the locomotives outside the Tutuban Executive Building was said to be Cabanatuan 777, the locomotive used to have its identical twin named Batangas 778. * The three existing locomotives used to have "MR" logo plates on their sides, the ones on Urdaneta 17 and Cabanatuan 777 were removed sometime in the 90s and replaced with a painted one, the Dagupan locomotive logo plate, together with its coupling chains disappeared. Antipolo and Montalban Lines * The Antipolo Line and Montalban Line (from Santa Mesa) were officially part of the Northern Division not South, Santa Mesa was the starting point of the Main Line South (during the MRR days) with Southern services starting at Paco.